ECH - Pisa Reviews 286

Italy Car Rent Pisa:
Do not be persuaded by the few good reviews to rent a car here. We were foolish enough not to research this properly beforehand. Their questionable practices become crystal clear, especially if you arrive in the dark:

1. You are given a car with numerous obvious existing damages;
2. In our case, it was even a white car (never accept a white one);
3. Those obvious damages are only marked with tiny dots;
4. You then return the car — in our case in the middle of the night;
5. You have to leave the key in a locker, because no one is there to inspect the car with you;
6. The next morning, suddenly there are all kinds of “new” small damages according to them;
7. These are not visible in the photos, supposedly on the roof (even though we barely drove the car, it was parked most of the time, and not in a place where objects could fall onto it), yet they still add hefty charges;
8. Then they charge hundreds of euros, which are deducted directly from your credit card deposit.

Mistakes we made as consumers, and specifically in our case:

1. We did not read the reviews beforehand, where this form of deception/theft is frequently reported;
2. Upon pickup, we did not insist that someone thoroughly inspect the car from top to bottom with a strong lamp;
3. We did film the car the next day in daylight, but due to the many large existing damages we checked, we were not detailed enough to capture every tiny spot;
4. Upon return, we did not insist on someone being present to inspect the car immediately with proper lighting together;
5. As a result, the car remained parked for hours overnight, during which anything could have happened or been done by them, creating damage that may not have existed at all;

In court, this would likely not hold up unless there are extremely clear 24/7 camera recording with no blind spots focused on the vehicle.

We were traveling with four families. Everyone had rented cars, but from other companies. For example, Sunny Cars — which, according to another family member, always works well. None of the other families had any damage. This is despite the fact that they ended up driving us everywhere. They parked in cities like Florence and Lucca and at beach resorts along the Ligurian coast.

In short, a very questionable situation. Do not fall for this company’s practices. Warn others as well, and do not let these kinds of operators get away with such antisocial behavior.

They are trying to scam us. Upon rental I deliverately resigned from the second drived as my husband is 75 and there was no need to add him - I am experienced enough to drive myself all the time. Upon return on Thursday Aplril 30, despite my objection (it can bee seen that this was added/ corrected) there was a note made in the return sheet that I allegedly had unauthorised driver (my husband was with me all our journey, he did not drive a single mile - I was the only driver) and charged me with 200 euro (actual no deposit return). Irrespective of that they also kept the money they charged with my credit card, which was not ultimately used for rental and did not return it after I made payment and deposit with my debit card. The car was returned on time, without any single scratch. Today I got mail with "charge for unauthorised driver". Shitty scammers greedy for money. Looking for Italian lawyer.

Worst car rental experience in 20+ years.

We arrived 15 minutes after the scheduled pickup time, and our prepaid reservation had been canceled. The receptionist (showing no empathy whatsoever) made us pay for a new reservation that was 1.5 times more expensive for a lower-category vehicle, even though the car we had already paid for was, of course, still on the lot. Our original reservation was not refunded.

Very bad experience,

The person behind the counter was extremely unpleasant and unfriendly.

As their was something wrong with the card of the driver the passenger wanted to give the correct payment card. She refused and forced to rebook adding extra costs.

Car was very dirty on the outside, it was not cleaned at all. we received an extremely old and dirty baby seat at the counter as they forgot we booked it.

As we arrived at the airport there was a small dent in the door. The person who controlled car ( very friendly person ). even mentioned not to worry as we had the insurance.

One day later we got a mail that they are charging 290euros for the small dent.

They are doing their best to scam their own customers. I suggest you book with another agency, I'm never booking with them again.

Avoid at all costs. We arrived on Friday 10th April, the day the new passport ESS came into effect and were later than expected. We called while in the passport control queue to advise we would be later and was assured it was fine. We were met by the most unhelpful staff member who point blank refused to help us. She just said our booking had expired and there was nothing she could do. No empathy for our situation that was no fault of our own.

Cancelled our prepaid car hire booking via AutoEurope as we arrived more than 2hrs later than the time stated on the form (this was because of passport control queues over which we had no control). Then offered us a smaller car at double the cost and deposit etc. We booked with a reputable company instead. Avoid.

Do not rent a car from them!They charge you if you arrive by teain ibstaed of plane with fakse charges. They have scratched up danaged dirty cars you have to video as eviddbce and do not provide contracted car They are unprofessional con artists.

On collection of car the operator missed many scratches and also a broken aerial
On return I was given the all clear no damage.
Today I received a bill for smoking in the car they provide no evidence but now I've refuted their claim they are badgering me they will not accept I had a witness to their agent saying all good. And keep claiming I was told of fine.
I thought it strange they would not give or let me copy there inspection report.
Avoid at all costs read other reviews where others have had the same treatment

Car very dirty. Maintenance passed km already. Employers not friendly. Contract Says fuel is full-full. Got the car with 3/8 tank

Great service, I’ve been using ECH for a while now and it’s like any other hire service you’re careful and look after the car they look after you, chiara was particularly helpful with the transition, five star

I had a car booked with Easy Car Hire for a rental in Italy, collecting from Pisa Airport. On arrival, it was quite difficult to find the rental desk, and without speaking Italian and asking several people, it would have been even more challenging to locate.

At the desk, I was informed that I had not booked snow/tyre chains, which are a legal requirement on Italian motorways during certain months. There was no clear mention of this requirement or additional cost on the website, so I assumed they would be included in the rental price. I was required to pay an extra £40 to rent them for just three days, simply to have them in the car.

The vehicle provided already had some minor damage, which was mostly recorded, but one noticeable area of damage was missing from the report. I had to go back to the desk and insist it was documented before leaving, which was inconvenient but necessary.

On the drive to my hotel, I noticed the windscreen washer fluid was completely empty, and the windscreen was dirty. The wiper blades were also worn and in poor condition, something that would be an MOT failure in the UK. This made me question how the vehicle was considered safe and roadworthy for rental.

Overall, the experience wasn’t terrible, but it was far from smooth. My advice to anyone renting with Easy Car Hire is to thoroughly inspect the car and carry out basic safety checks before leaving the rental location, even if you’re tired after travelling.

I rented a car from this company with full insurance, and they still have not refunded my security deposit. They stated the refund would be processed within 30 days, but it has now been 40 days and I have received nothing.

The worst car rental experience I’ve ever had.
We rented two cars at a very good price because we booked in advance and it wasn’t high season. Unfortunately, one of the cars ended up without insurance — a serious mistake.

Upon arrival, it was clear that the staff member assisting us had very little willingness to help. My father is usually the main driver; he has over 40 years of driving experience and exchanged his Colombian license for a Spanish one two years ago. He always carries both to show his driving history, and we’ve never had any issues in any other country (France, Italy, Germany, or Spain).

This time, for the first time ever, we were told we had to pay a €100 penalty for “not having the required documentation.” If that were truly the case, they shouldn’t have allowed us to rent the car in the first place. After wasting a lot of time trying to explain the situation, we finally completed the process.

At no point were we offered insurance for the car that wasn’t covered, and given the frustration of the moment, we didn’t think to ask for it either.

When we finally received the cars — almost two hours later — it was already getting dark, and the pickup area had no lighting. The attendant wanted us to sign the form without checking the vehicles, so we used our phone flashlights to point out all the scratches and dents both cars already had. This detail is important because, on the return day, also at night, the same area did have lighting.

A few days later, we got the €750 deposit refunded for each car, so we thought everything was fine. But 15 days later, when we no longer had any photos or video records of the vehicles, we noticed a €240 charge on the credit card — with no prior notice or explanation, just the charge.

When we contacted them, they sent a photo of a small scratch on one of the rims. The report they attached does not include the various scratches we had pointed out to the attendant when picking up the car.

I do not recommend renting from this company. If you do, make sure to get full insurance — and if not, take plenty of photos and videos of the car and keep them for at least a month to avoid unpleasant surprises later on.

I would not rent again. 10€ daily charge for snow chains that you must legally have in the winter is not good. I rent often in Italy and nobody else does this. This charge was not mentioned until I collected the car. Beware also they try to make charges for even a small damage that nobody else does anything like this, they even inspect under the car. I will never rent with ECH again.

ECH Easy Car Hire are an absolute disgrace. The service desk staff were rude from the outset and immediately launched into aggressive upselling, particularly around breakdown cover. I was even told I would have no breakdown assistance at all unless I bought their personal cover, which is completely untrue.

On vehicle pickup the car was filthy and covered in hundreds of minor dents and blemishes. On return, the inspection process felt scripted and deliberately acted out to manufacture a damage claim. They attempted to accuse me of existing damage despite obvious touch up paint from a previous incident being clearly visible.

This company is nothing more than a group of cowboys who appear to make their money through false damage claims. I have rented through Zest more than 15 times over the last 5 years without a single issue until being unfortunate enough to deal with ECH.

They should be removed from credible comparison sites like Zest. Disgusting service and arrogant people. Avoid at all costs.

Not even one star...TRYING TO FAKE THE REPORT! Scratches on the front bumper were marked more on the right at the pick-up, but at the drop-off they were marking them more to the middle-still on the right, trying to accuse us that we scratched it, but obviously that the mentioned damage was from one incident - see first photo. The guy at the drop-off was EXTREMELY rude.
We are travelling and renting cars very often and this is the first time that something similar happened to us. Our mistake was that this time we didn't check the reviews before booking the car, as the reviews for ECH Pisa Airport are really really bad - check Trustpilot before, there's a lot of comments regarding the fraud, state of a car, etc.
The worst experience ever, the car was in a really bad state, scratches and damages all over, plus dirty inside and outside.
Scam, scam, scam!!!!!!

The warning signs were there whilst I was waiting at the ECH desk. The receptionist arguing on the phone with a customer whose car had broken down: the car was working fine when they took it, and they must pay to rent another.

I was given a dirty navy-blue Seat Ibiza (GJ 883LF), which had “a lot of damage” according to the ECH employee. As it was dark and in light of the lengthy delays at check-in, they kindly offered me a pre-completed damage form to sign.

Besides being covered in damage, the car reported it was overdue an inspection, the air-conditioning smelt like a wet dog, the wiper blades were dangerously worn and the car made a loud rumbling noise at speed. With the receptionist’s attitude, I decided not to complain and hoped the car would last another week.

On return, the car was given the most detailed inspection I have ever seen, which inevitably found “new” damage on the tailgate. I refused to sign the damage form, but was told that I must sign it, and complete another form to explain that I could not inspect the car on collection and didn’t cause the damage. The employee told me he considered the case closed but he was obliged to report it. Despite all this, I have now been charged €263 to cover the damage, which I’m pursuing with my credit card company.

I booked my car rental via VIP Cars, who have simply sided with ECH.

Lesson learned: pay extra and book directly with a big-name, reputable car hire company.

Friendly when checking in and checking the car and friendly when car returned. Luckily I didn’t scrap the car 😜

Please do not hire with this company.
We initially used "stressfreecarhire" as the search engine and they put us in contact with ECH. They are a scam. We were given a dirty chipped Toyota Aygo. The guy handed us the keys laughed about how people "cannot park" had a sign a form and we went on our way. On our return the entire car was examined to the extreme. He wiped away dirt on the back to reveal some paint missing. We had no way of knowing or proof when the entire car was in such dire repair. It was our fault for not taking photos properly before, but where do you start when the whole car is a mess. We were charged £200 for a 1cm chip on the boot. Surrounded by other paint chips but we couldn't prove that it was there before.
Other reviews show the same issue. It's clearly a scam company looking to get money. Luckily we had insurance.

This was a great experience! they waited for me late at night because my flight was landing at 00:00.

especially thanks to Chiara! She was a great help!! give her a raise!! ;)